I am searching for the cache (treasure) of my granddad, Borric O'Flaherty, a far descendant of the famous O'Flaherty clan. When I was a child he often told me about it. He mentioned the church (N 53° 28.424 W 009° 52.776) where he was baptized (the same year the church was built, by the way). He also told about an illegal distillery which looked like a small concrete shed, where he brewed poiteen (which is made using potatoes) until he was very old! Because my granddad was a sheep farmer, he had a shed for his sheep. From there it was a relative easy walk over the mountains to the little village he was living in. Unfortunately nobody is living there anymore and it is hard to find the village these days. Before my granddad left his village, he hid a cache here.
In my granddad's old trunk I found these directions:
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In the days of granddad Borric the usual transport was by foot or by donkey. He left with a donkey from the house where the Garda slept (N 53° 28.233 W 009° 50.561), presently a youth hostel. It is best to park your car here.
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The poiteen was distilled at N 53° 29.XXX W 009° 53.624, where XXX = the year of baptizing minus 1056. Notice the year granddad brewed his last poiteen.
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Just before reaching the distillery he had to cross an old narrow bridge. Notice the number of drain holes in the side walls of that bridge. The sheep shed can be found at N 53° 29.XXX W 009° 51.YYY, where XXX = the number of drain holes divided by 2 multiplied by 155 and where YYY = the first three digits of the year of baptizing plus 3. Notice that the shed has the shape of a mirrored number.
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Granddad walked from the sheep shed 955 meters in the direction of 163° (notice that if you let your GPS point back, it will point in the opposite direction). Looking back granddad could see the shape of the sheep shed clearly. From the big rock found there, where sometimes sheep shelter, he walked 573 meters in the direction of 132°. From there he walked 631 meters in the direction of 196°, to the highest point. When the sky was clear, granddad always stopped to enjoy the view from here for some minutes, smoked his pipe and looked at Ballynahinch Castle in the lake, the castle of his ancestors.
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Granddad hid the cache at N 53° 28.XXX W 009° 50.YYY, where XXX = (41 times the mirrored number of the sheep shed) plus (4 times the number of drain holes in the bridge at the distillery) and where YYY = (36 times the number of drain holes) plus (19 times the mirrored number of the sheep shed).
During one of my talks with my granddad, he told me the cache initially contained:
- A logbook and pencil, my granddad told that these should stay in the cache
- A surprise voucher
- Irish "delights"
- Loose ends connector kit
- North cape cappuccino
- A cool piece of ...
- Historical coins
- Homeless chickens
- Bright rubber air holders
- King frog spoon
- Spicy delights
- Bounty hunters light
Granddad Borric, a very fit man considering his age, hid the cache on a day with good weather, wearing his watertight mountain boots, in about 5 hours. He walked for about 15 km and used paths and roads where available and was always cautious not to damage his neighbours' fences when crossing their lands.